Columbus North High School

June 1, 2026 - On April 13, Columbus North lost 10-0 to Center Grove to fall to 3-5 for the season. At that point, not many people were picking the Bull Dogs to win the sectional title. However, 16 victories later, the Dogs beat East Central 3-0 to claim the 16th sectional title in program history (first since 2023) and will advance to face Bloomington South in the regional tournament. Franko Ortega got the pitching start for the Bull Dogs (19-11) and tossed another beauty. He allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out five Trojans. East Central took advantage of a couple of defensive errors by the Bull Dogs to threaten with runners in scoring position, but Ortega and his defense battled through the adversity and forced the Trojans into eight men left on base for the game, and none across the plate. Jesse Clark had a pair of RBI and Sam Perry added the third as Jack Whaley, Ike Genth, and Clark all scored for the Dogs. Cade Finke had a pair of hits in the shutout victory. The Bull Dogs had zero strikeouts for the game. The Bull Dogs will face Bloomington South in the regional, who beat Bloomington North 3-2 in the Bloomington South Sectional. The location for the regional game between the Dogs and the Panthers will be announced Wednesday. Bloomington South beat North 3-2 on May 13 in their only matchup this season.